With You
by Kiki102
Summary: Part 2, sequel to Without You. Ulster may be dead & Kenzie safe, but there are still so many unanswered questions. Mac won't give until he's found the answers. And Stella has a promise to keep. Vaguely AU.
1. Revelation

**This is the second part of the story which began in Without You. It's dedicated to the lovely people who have reviewed Without You, especially oliya, tlh45, lily moonlight and cornish pasties.**

**Enjoy,**

**Christina x**

**XOXOXOX**

"Hey," Jo smiled as she entered Mac's office. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Mac replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Ever since he'd found Mackenzie Bonasera three weeks ago, Jo had been constantly asking him how he was, although he had no idea why. It was as if she expected him to break down at any moment for some reason. She also seemed to expect him to know every detail of Kenzie's recovery, asking regularly how she and Stella were and was surprised when he said he didn't know, even though he always gave to same answer.

"I was helping Hawkes sort through the stuff we found at Ulster's and he came across this," she said, handing him two pieces of paper. "It's a letter about a DNA test, confirming that a Michaela Brown is his daughter. But I checked the DNA profile, and it's nothing like Ulster's. And there is no record of him having a daughter. I checked for three year old Michaela Browns, there's one in Connecticut but she's definitely not Ulster's daughter. Thought it might be of interest."

"Thanks," he replied, skim reading the covering letter as Jo left his office. Another mystery left by Ulster. Mac sighed. It seemed that the more evidence they found, the less things made sense where Michael Ulster was concerned. The thing that bothered him most was that phone call, the one with the little girl's voice imploring him to find her and calling him daddy. His heart clenched, the same way it did every time he remembered it, the same way it had when the voice first called him daddy. Another cruel reminder of what he and Claire could've had. Or what he and- No. He wasn't going there. It hurt too much.

"Suck it up Bonasera," Stella muttered, wishing the herd of butterflies doing elephant impressions in her stomach would disappear. If she hadn't made such stupid choices in the past, she wouldn't have to do this now. But, you couldn't change the past, and she'd promised that if Kenzie was found alive and well, she would tell Mac the truth about her daughter. She'd been putting it off, but had decided that today was the day. She had no classes to give after lunch, so instead of picking Kenzie up early, she was riding in the elevator to the crime lab, which seemed to take a lot longer than the last time she'd ridden in it.

The doors slid open and it felt like nothing had changed, she was still Detective Bonasera, CSI and assistant supervisor of the crime lab. Walking through the corridors to Mac's office felt so familiar, but she was glad she didn't meet any of her friends. Not that she didn't want to see them, just not right now. She really didn't want to have to explain why she was here, not yet anyway. Mac was at his desk, staring at a piece of paper, and Stella could tell something was bugging him. It wouldn't be obvious to most people, but even after four years away, she could read him like a book. Taking a deep breath and summoning her courage, she knocked on the door.

Mac was surprised to see Stella leaning in the doorway, trying to look casual and relaxed.

"Hi," he smiled, genuinely happy to see her.

"Hey," she replied.

"Come in," he said, before closing the door behind her, guessing that whatever had her so uptight was important and she wouldn't want half the lab hearing.

"Thanks," Stella managed a tight lipped smile as she sat down.

"How's Kenzie?" Mac asked. Despite any impressions he'd given Jo, he'd thought a lot about Stella's daughter.

"Huh? Oh she's good," Stella replied. "She's back at daycare without too much trouble. I thought about changing her but after moving from New Orleans, I didn't want her to have to get used to _more_ new people. They've stepped up security though." _A month too late_, she thought bitterly.

"Good," he smiled again.

"Mac, I need to talk to you," she said. "It's about Kenzie. And her father."

"Okay..." he frowned.

"I should've told you a long time ago, but I was scared and trying to protect her." She took a deep breath. "Kenzie... Kenzie is your daughter Mac."

Mac heard the words but his brain couldn't process them. He was Kenzie's father. He had a daughter with Stella. He had a daughter.

"How long have you known?" he managed to force out.

"I've always known," Stella replied softly, looking into his eyes. "She could only ever have been yours. And as soon as I saw her... She's yours."

Running a hand through his hair, Mac pushed his chair back from the desk and stood up. He tried to get some sort of order from his scrambled thoughts.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Because I was scared!" she snapped defensively "Because I had a new job with added pressure, and I was in a strange town, away from home, away from my friends, my family. I was alone and pregnant after..."

"After what?" He dared her to say it, to call it a one night stand, to call it a drunken mistake, to break his heart.

"We were drunk Mac," she whispered. "We did things we wouldn't have normally. And I never wanted her called a mistake or an accident. Calling something a mistake or an accident makes it sounds like something bad that you didn't want. I always wanted her. She is the best thing I have. I could never give her up, I couldn't let her go through what I went through." She hesitated. "I named her after you. Mackenzie is as close to McKenna as I could deal with. I tried calling her Mac once but it was too weird. I wanted her to have some part of you other than your eyes. And I didn't want to have to lie to her. Because I can't. But if I'd told you and you didn't want to be there, to be part of her life, how could I tell her that? I couldn't. And I can't lie to her."

"So what did you tell her?"

"That her dad was my best friend and I moved to New Orleans before I knew I was going to have a baby and he couldn't be with us because of his job but that he would love her very much."

"You should've told me."

"I did what I thought was right for her," Stella snapped before turning on her heel and walking out, praying that her tears wouldn't start until she was out of the building.

XOXOXOX

"Hey baby, whatcha doing?" Stella asked, sitting on the floor and crossing her legs.

"Drawing," Kenzie replied, frowning in concentration. Slipping an arm around her daughter, Stella leaned forward so she could see the paper.

"What are you drawing?"

"Well that's me, and that's Sophie and we're going to see my pet unicorn," Kenzie explained.

"I see, what's the unicorn's name?"

"Sparkle."

"That's a pretty name for a unicorn." Stella attempted to smooth her daughter's wild hair down. "You want to pick a movie for us to watch tonight after dinner?"

"Yeah!" Kenzie grinned.

"What will we watch then?"

"_Tangled_," she decided.

"_Tangled_ it is," Stella said, planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

XOXOXOX

"We're heading to Sullivan's for a drink, you coming? Mac? Anyone there?"

Realising he was being spoken to, Mac shook himself out of the reverie he'd been stuck in since Stella left. Danny was leaning into his office, looking at him like he'd lost it.

"Sorry Danny, miles away."

"Noticed. So, Sullivan's, coming?"

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself," the younger man shrugged.

Once alone again, Mac searched through the NYPD's database of files, opening the Mackenzie Bonasera kidnapping file. He doubled clicked on the picture of Mackenzie so it filled his screen. _His daughter_. She had Stella's curls, but dark brown, almost black, like his hair. Stella's cheekbones, his chin. Stella's smile, his eyes. She was perfect.

Suddenly, with a sickening feeling, Mac realised that he could quite easily have lost his daughter before even finding out about her. They didn't know what Michael Ulster's plan had ultimately been. What would have happened if they hadn't found Kenzie? He was surprised how the thought made him feel, considering a few hours ago he had no idea he even had a daughter. What would be worse, loosing a daughter he didn't even know he had, or loosing a daughter he's known her whole life? What would it have been like for Stella to tell him that the daughter she had just lost was also his? He remembered the anger and the hurt that had flashed in Stella's eyes as she'd left. It had taken a lot of guts for her to do what she did today. Feeling guilty, he quickly switched off his computer and grabbed his coat.


	2. Baby Steps

"Can I come in?" Mac asked, knowing he was lucky she hadn't already slammed the door in his face. Stella was silent, studying him.

"Sure," she said at last, moving to let him in. Kenzie was watching TV on the couch, some kids show where the presenters were far too excitable and were simply freaky when you were an adult. She twisted to see their visitor.

"Hi Kenzie," he smiled.

"Hi Mac," she replied.

"Kenzie, go watch TV in my room," Stella said, pushing past him into the kitchen. He followed her, watching as she turned down the gas ring.

"If you've made dinner, I can come back," he said.

"It's fine," she replied, leaning against the counter, arms crossed. She was angry. He remembered her marching into his office, automatic weapon in hand, going through a proper report then telling what it meant in 'Stella talk'.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I was out of line earlier. It took a lot of courage for you to tell me about Kenzie. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"Over four years too late," Stella pointed out.

"Stel, you didn't have to tell me at all. But you did, and I'm grateful. I am sorry."

"It's okay," she shrugged.

"No it's not," he continued. "Let me know when it is."

"Mac, it's okay," Stella said softly. "Really. You had a right to know." She held out her hand. "Friends?"

"Friends," he agreed, shaking her hand, surprised that she ended the fight the exact same way as the one he'd remembered earlier. "Stella, one more thing. If it's okay with you, and with Kenzie, I'd like to be part of her life." Stella was silent. "Think it over."

"Okay. I'll talk to her."

"Thanks. Bye."

XOXOXOX

"Right, time for you get some sleep," Stella said, closing the book.

"Not sleepy," Kenzie mumbled, her eyelids drooping. Biting back a smile, Stella kissed her.

"Well mommy is, so you've got to try to get to sleep too."

"Kay," Kenzie replied, hugging her. Stella was hugging her back when thoughts of Mac suddenly invaded her head. He's never gotten to tuck his daughter in and kiss her goodnight, she realised guiltily.

"Kenzie honey, you know Mac who was here earlier?"

"Yeah, of course." Kenzie's eyes lit up at the briefest mention of Mac and they'd practically glowed when she'd seen him earlier. Stella guessed it was because Mac had found her after Michael Ulster kidnapped her and taken her home again. But then again, maybe it was a subliminal father-daughter connection. Or both.

"Mac's your dad. And you know how I always said that he couldn't be with us because of his and my jobs? Well because we're living here now, Mac wants to spend time with you, get to know you. Would you like to do that?" she asked. Kenzie nodded her head eagerly. "Okay sweetie. I'll tell him." She kissed her daughter again. "Good night."

"Night night mommy."

XOXOXOX

The two days he waited for Stella's phone call were the longest two days of his life. Or at least they felt like it. Everyone noticed that Mac was more irritable and grumpy than usual, almost back to his post-9/11 temperament. Most of the lab took to staying out of his way. Only Jo was brave enough to tackle him head on about it, but all she got out of him was a glare which would've terrified junior officers and intimidated most senior officer into submission, but not her.

"If you want to be a misery guts, fine," she'd shrugged as she walked out of his office, leaving Danny and Flack, who'd been unfortunate enough to be in the room at the same time, wondering how the _hell_ she was walking out in one piece. The only other person they knew who could get away with talking to him like that was Stella.

"Taylor," Mac said, his voice full of fatigue from pulling a double shift because grave had four cases and were stretched to the limit.

"Hey, it's Stella." Despite being exhausted, he sat up straighter, his heart beating just a little quicker, desperate to know the answer to his question. "I talked to Kenzie. She wants to get to know you. So I was thinking she could spend your day off with you instead of going to daycare while I'm at work?"

"Good idea," he replied, smiling. "I'm off on Thursday."

"Well, I have to leave at eight, so do you think you could come by around ten to?"

"Of course."

"Great."

"Stella, thank you."

"No problem," she replied, and he could hear the smile behind her words. "And Mac?"

"Yeah?"

"Go home and get some sleep." She could still read him like a book. He chuckled.

"Okay Stel, see you Thursday."


	3. Getting to Know You

Trying to ignore his nerves, Mac knocked on the door. A moment later Stella opened it, hair still wet from her morning shower, and grinned.

"Hey. Come in," she said. "She's been excited for days. Kenzie!"

"Thanks again," he said quietly, taking advantage of the time before Kenzie arrived.

"You don't have to keep saying that," Stella smiled.

"I want you to know I really appreciate this."

"You're stuck with us now," she teased, and he smiled at her use of us. He could be very happy being stuck with Stella.

Kenzie bounded into the room then slowed, suddenly shy. It wasn't the first time she'd met him, but it was the first time she'd seen him since finding out he was her dad. For a start, did he want her to call him dad now? Or did he want her to still call him Mac?

"Hey Kenzie," Mac smiled, once again thankful that he had this chance.

"Hey," she replied quietly.

"Speechless, that's a first," Stella whispered.

"Takes after you normally then?" he teased.

"Cheeky," she grinned, hitting his arm playfully. Stella crouched down in front of Kenzie, straightening out her dress and leggings. "Where's your shoes sweetie?"

"Um... Bedroom."

"Go get them on."

"She can manage her own shoes?" Mac asked, surprised.

"Velcro," Stella explained. "I learned fast, after three skinned knees from tripping over undone laces, I switched all her shoes to velcro."

Kenzie returned and Stella helped her into her sweater.

"Be good. I'll see you tonight." Stella kissed her daughter. "I love you."

"Love you too," Kenzie replied, hugging Stella.

"Right, have fun," Stella said to Mac.

"Anything important I need to know?" he asked. "Allergies or anything?"

"No allergies, she has mild asthma but here's her inhaler. If she needs it then she takes one puff. She can have up to two puffs, but it's rare she needs to take it. Otherwise, that's it." Stella smiled. "I'm sure she'll be able to tell you herself what foods she does and doesn't like. Here's my work contacts in case of emergencies. So, have fun."

"I think we'll be fine, won't we?" he said. Kenzie nodded. "Ready?" He held out his hand. Smiling shyly, Kenzie ran over and slipped her small hand into his, gripping tightly. "What time do you want us back?"

"I finish work at five so..."

"Six?" he suggested.

"Sounds good. Bye Kenzie."

"Bye mommy." Kenzie waved over her shoulder as they left.

XOXOXOX

"What do you want to do?" Mac asked. Although he'd spent time with both Lucy and Noah before, he had no idea what children liked to do. Maybe he should've asked Jo or Danny and Lindsay. But that would've meant telling them that Mackenzie was his daughter, and he didn't want to do that without discussing it with Stella first. Kenzie shrugged. She'd barely said a word to him since he'd arrived at Stella's apartment. "Lost your voice," he teased, squeezing her hand. She giggled.

"No," she replied.

"What do you like doing?" he rephrased the question.

"I like going to the park and playing on the swings," she said.

"Have you been to the park since you came here?"

"No."

"Do you want to go?"

"Kay," she nodded excitedly.

They walked together, hand in hand, towards Central Park. As they walked, Kenzie looked around wide eyed. Mac enjoyed watching her amazement and delight as she noticed details of her surroundings, probably due to her parent's skills as CSIs. He slowed his usual pace but she seemed perfectly happy skipping along beside him, with the limitless energy that all kids seem to have. He couldn't believe that he was walking hand in hand with his daughter. Ever since Stella'd told him, he'd been repeating it over and over in his head but he hadn't quite managed to get his head around it yet. But it was true. He, Mac Taylor, was a father.

XOXOXOX

"Stay where I can see you, okay?" Mac said. Kenzie nodded before running towards the play area and climbing up the steps of the slide. Mac sat down on a bench and watched her play, a small smile settling on his face. When she smiled she looked just like her mother, the same wide grin. He watched as she climbed the slide again, speeding down to the bottom, he face lit up in delight. Then she jumped up and ran towards the swings, climbing up and moving slowly back and forth, barely reaching any height at all but feeling like she's flying. He watched as she jumps off and runs over to a thing that looks vaguely like an airplane on a spring and rocks backwards and forwards on it. And he was happy just to sit there and watch her run from one thing to the next, never spending more than two minutes on one thing. Kenzie scrambled up the steps of the slide yet again, and paused.

"Daddy!" she called, waving at him. Mac felt his throat constrict. He waved back.

"I see you," he replied, blinking back the sudden, unexpected tears that pricked at the corner of his eyes. Suddenly it felt real. And he liked how it felt.

They ended up spending most of the morning at the park, until Kenzie was red cheeked and bright eyed from running around. As soon as Mac called her name she came running over and slipped her hand back into his.

"I'm hungry," she announced, looking up at him.

"Okay. What do you want?"

"Ice cream?" she asked hopefully. Mac was pretty sure Stella would kill him if he gave their daughter ice cream for lunch.

"Afterwards. But you have to have something else first," he bargained.

Forty minutes and a margarita pizza later, Kenzie got her ice cream. Throughout the meal she chattered to him about the other children at her daycare, or friends from New Orleans (a co-worker of Stella's called Anika was a great hit he surmised), or about Stella. To Mac's relief, nothing about her kidnapping came up. Kenzie seemed to have no lasting effects. Her stories were often long winded and confusing, usually going off on tangents and not really going anywhere, but Mac enjoyed listening to her talk.

"And there's a big parade and everyone wears costumes and Anika said she'd help mommy make me a costume," Kenzie explained, her ice cream melting. "There was this one girl and she had this really pretty costume and it was different blues and she looked like a bird called a p..." She frowned, struggling to remember the word.

"Peacock?" he supplied.

"Yeah. That's what mommy said." Kenzie returned her attention to the almost melted ice cream. From their last conversation Mac had discovered she liked watching the carnival parades at Mardi Gras and Anika was not only Stella's co-worker but a close friend who may or may not be involved with another CSI called Ricky. Oh, and Kenzie hated anything that tasted of bubblegum, because the dentist had given her some "icky stuff" the last time she'd visited and told her it tasted of bubblegum.

XOXOXOX

Despite telling herself that Mac was more than capable to look after Kenzie for ten hours, Stella was distracted all day. During her lunch hour she had her phone in hand and Mac's name highlighted in her contacts before she told herself to stop being silly. They would both be fine. Still, she would be glad when six o clock rolled around.

Just before six, she heard a very familiar giggle coming from down the hallway. Smiling, Stella stood up, ready to answer the door as soon as the doorbell rang. As a first indication, she guessed the day had went well. When she opened the door and saw Mac smiling, with Kenzie on his back, her arms tight around his neck, she knew it had gone well.

"Mommy!" Kenzie cried as she slipped down off her father's back, before giving Stella a hug.

"Hi sweetie, did you have fun?" Stella asked.

"Yeah."

"Go put your coat in your room before you say bye."

Kenzie ran off, leaving her parents alone. Stella looked at the smile on Mac's face. It was a proper, real smile. She'd rarely seem one like that in a long time.

"Good day?"

"Yeah," Mac replied, suddenly feeling slightly choked.

"I'm happy to continue like this for a while until we can arrange something better, if you are?"

"Sounds good," he replied, not trusting himself to say anything more than a few words.

"When's your next day off?"

"Tuesday. Same time?"

"Perfect," she said, before giving him one of her famous Stella grins.

Kenzie ran back into the room, sliding to a halt next to Stella and smiling up at her dad.

"I'll see you soon Kenzie," Mac promised, crouching down to give her a hug.

"Bye daddy," she replied. Stella's eyebrows lifted marginally, surprised, but subconsciously a smile slipped onto her face.


	4. Paint Me a Blue Sky

Two weeks later, when he dropped Kenzie off at six, Stella handed Mac a large cardboard box.

"I was going to send you this when she reached one, I decided to do it after chickening out of telling you I was pregnant. But obviously I never sent it. But I still wanted you to have it," she explained, leaving him mystified as to the box's contents. "Also, would you mind taking her from seven thirty until ten on a Thursday evening? There's something I want to do and I thought that..."

"Of course," he interrupted.

"Great," she grinned. "See you later."

By the time he arrived home, his curiosity was almost killing him. He dumped his keys on the table and threw his jacket on the recliner, placing the box on the table and sitting on the couch. Mac opened the box slowly, feeling like a kid with a Christmas present. Inside he found two photo albums. Picking up the top one, he sat back and opened it. The first page took his breath away. In the centre of the page was a grainy black and white image with Stella's loopy handwriting underneath it: _Went for my first scan today and got to see baby Taylor for the first time!_ Slowly, Mac traced the outline of their baby daughter, so tiny and protected inside Stella. The next page held a similar image, from a few weeks later: _I was so sure I was having a boy. Found out today that I'm having a little girl!_ He smiled. In his mind's eye, Mac could see Stella when she'd made her mind up about something. She didn't take well to finding out she was wrong. He would've liked to be in the room with her when she found out, just to see the look on her face. Knowing her, she probably argued with the doctor. Turning the page he continued to gaze at the pictures, drinking them and Stella's words in.

_Mackenzie Boyd Bonasera, born March 16__th__ 2011, 9Ilbs 6oz. Four hours old and already a heartbreaker! _

Mac smiled, staring at the picture of Kenzie wrapped up in a white cotton blanket, still red faced, sound asleep. He agreed. She was then and now a total heartbreaker. Suddenly he thought about when she would be a teenager and groaned inwardly. In ten years time, life would be hell. With her looks she would attract all the boys, and if Kenzie was anything like her mother, the teenage years were _definitely_ not going to be pretty. With a wince at that thought, he continued making his way through the album, quickly realising it was an album of firsts, leading up to her first birthday. Although he loved all the pictures, it was the final one that was definitely Mac's favourite. Taken at Kenzie's first birthday party, Stella was holding Kenzie, ignoring the camera and talking to her daughter, smiling and wearing a party hat. Kenzie was gazing adoringly at her mother, arms wrapped around her neck. Smiling, Mac slipped the photo out of its plastic cover, before going to find a photo frame for it.

XOXOXOX

"Wow, looks serious," Jo teased, noticing the frown on Mac's face.

"Sorry?" he asked.

"Where were you? You looked like you were trying to figure out how to ask for a kidney."

"Now you mention it..." he joked. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She sat down in one of the chairs opposite his desk.

"What's the best way to occupy a three year old girl for two and a half hours?"

Jo's eyebrows shot up. Definitely not what she'd been expecting.

"Care to explain where you've gotten a three year old from?"

"I didn't just pick one off the street if that's what you're thinking," he replied. "Stella's daughter, Kenzie. She's my daughter."

"Bout time!" she exclaimed. It was Mac's turn to be confused. "She looks like you, she's the right age, and the way you talked about Stella I knew there was more than you were telling."

"Right... Anyway, I'm taking Kenzie from seven thirty until ten tonight, and I have no idea what to do with her. Usually I take her during the day so we go to the park a lot. Didn't think it was such a good idea in the evening."

"Arts and crafts usually go down well with kids, nothing fancy, just paper and pens. They'll draw something they think is a Picasso and you think is a funny coloured splodge but you'll love it anyway," Jo replied.

"Thanks," Mac smiled. "Oh, and do you think we can keep this just between us for the moment? I don't want to go around telling people about Kenzie unless Stella's happy about it."

"Sure, no problem," she smiled.

XOXOXOX

Sure enough, Kenzie was thrilled with the idea of drawing, even though Mac did have to buy a pack of coloured pencils for her. Now she was proceeding to make enough pictures to wallpaper his whole apartment. Not that he minded of course. Jo had been right, even though he had no idea what most of them were meant to be, Kenzie had drawn them, therefore he loved them.

"Time for bed," he announced. Kenzie pouted.

"But I thought mommy was coming back for me?"

"She is, in a while, but right now you have to go to bed."

"Why?"

"Because it's too late for little girls to be awake," Mac replied, picking her up.

"I don't have my jammas."

"Mom gave me some."

Biting back a laugh at the look on Kenzie's face upon discovering she'd been foiled, Mac carried her through to his spare room where he'd left the bag Stella gave him. However, despite Kenzie's protests that she really wasn't tired and no way Jose would she fall asleep, by the time they'd changed her into her pyjammas and brushed her teeth, she was yawning widely. Tucking her in, Mac sat down next to her as she demanded he read her a bedtime story, claiming that she would definitely, absolutely no way Jose fall asleep otherwise. By the third page, she was sound asleep. He kissed her forehead, before leaving the room.

When Stella arrived to pick up Kenzie she looked flushed and happy. Mac smiled.

"Nice outfit," he said, nodding towards her tight fitting top and sweat pants that had been covered by her coat when she dropped Kenzie off.

"Yeah, really attractive," she replied sarcastically. "An hour and a half of dancing really makes a girl look her best."

"Dancing?"

"Yeah, there was an advert at the university for dance classes, so I thought I'd check them out. I loved dancing when I was young, and it's a good way to keep fit. And since I have a ready made babysitter now..." she added, her eyes twinkling. "Speaking of, where is she?"

"Asleep in the spare room. Who taught her no way Jose?"

"Ricky, my assistant supervisor. He drove Ani mad saying it all the time. She started hitting him on the back of the head every time he said it. I told her she watched too much NCIS. So I think he taught it to Kenzie just to annoy her."

Carefully, Stella picked up her daughter, Kenzie's arms wrapping around her mother's neck automatically. Mac smiled, tempted to tell Stella to leave Kenzie and just stay here tonight. But he couldn't. That would involve crossing the invisible line they'd drawn between themselves. So instead he opened the door for her, and followed her down to her car, again opening the door, then stepping back as Stella strapped Kenzie into her car seat.

"Thanks," Stella smiled.

"No problem," he replied.


	5. Suspicious Minds

Jo sat at her desk, blowing on a freshly brewed mug of tea. An idea suddenly striking her, she pulled up the copy of the DNA report found in Michael Ulster's apartment. Copying the profile which allegedly belonged to Michael Ulster, she ran it through the NYPD employee database. Sure enough, the computer emitted a loud ding: Match Found.

"Of course," she said quietly to herself.

XOXOXOX

"Guess who has just been made a junior reporter for the New York Times?"

Smiling at the excitement in Reed's voice, Mac pretended to mull the question over. "Cameron?" he suggested.

"Very funny Mac."

"Congratulations Reed," he said, a burst of pride flaring in his chest.

"Thanks Mac. I was thinking I could buy you a beer to celebrate. I'll take it out of my first paycheck."

"I'm on call, but make it a coffee and I'm there."

"Deal."

Reed was sitting in a window booth, a steaming mug of coffee and a bottle of beer on the table in front of him, the October sunlight streaming in. When he saw Mac, he gave the broadest smile Mac had ever seen on his face. Definitely the broadest since the taxi cab killer had left his mark on Reed's neck.

"So when did you find out you had the job?" Mac asked. Reed looked at his watch, mentally calculating.

"One hour, twenty three minutes and...ten seconds ago," he replied.

"When do you start?"

"Thursday. I know I'll probably get every traffic pile up and get sent to speak to little old ladies whose cats are being evicted but I don't care. I'll be a proper journalist."

"You're a great journalist Reed, that's why they gave you the job," Mac said, meaning every word. Sure, he'd messed up sometimes, and had the scars to prove it, but he'd been a kid. Reed blushed.

Mac's cell phone rang, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Taylor."

"Hey Mac, just letting you know we got a match to the hair found on our vic," Danny said. "Flack's meeting me and Lindsay there, you coming?"

"No, you go. I'll see you back at the lab later."

"Sure, no problem."

Hanging up, Mac placed his phone onto the table. Then he noticed Reed frowning at it.

"Who's that?" Reed asked, pointing to the picture of Kenzie he'd set as the wallpaper. He'd seen pictures of Mac's goddaughter before, and even met her once, and knew that wasn't her.

"That's Kenzie," Mac replied, passing the phone to him so he could see the picture better. "She's my daughter."

"Since when have you had a daughter?"

"Since three years ago. I only met her about two months ago," he explained. "You remember Stella?"

"Yeah."

"She's Kenzie's mom."

Reed remembered when he'd met Mac, he'd thought Stella was Claire, Mac's wife, because of they way they acted around each other. So it wasn't that big a surprise that they had a kid together. He could tell Mac had feelings for her, and wondered how long it would be before they got back together.

XOXOXOX

He'd missed this. Her smile, the sparkle in her eyes, her hugs, as she pulls him into one. They're friends, best friends, brother and sister, and it's been too long.

"What're you doing here?" Stella asked once she let him go.

"Thought I'd come see you," Flack replied. "Since I haven't seen you outside of work since you got back to New York. Because _someone_ didn't tell us she was coming back."

"Come in. You can meet your niece properly."

"My niece?" he echoed.

"Well, I don't have any siblings, and neither does Mac, so Kenzie's going to need her honorary aunts and uncles," Stella replied.

"Hold on, back up, did you just say Mac? Mac is Kenzie's father? As in, our Mac?"

"How many Macs do you think I know?" she teased.

"Very funny, just checking! So when exactly did this happen?"

"I didn't know you were so interested in the sex lives of your colleagues."

"I'm not. But as far as I know, you two were never together and suddenly you have a kid?"

Stella handed him a mug of coffee.

"We were drunk," she said quietly. "After my leaving party, Mac and I shared a taxi. We got back to his place... And then we kissed."

"I think you did a bit more than just kiss," Flack teased. Stella threw a cushion at him. "Does he know?" he asked.

"Yeah, I told him," she replied. "He's started spending time with her."

Flack watched a smile creep slowly across her face. He bit his lip. He'd always suspected Mac had more than just friendly feelings for Stella. Apparently, the feelings were mutual.

"So does that mean he's been spending more time with you?" he asked.

"What? No, why?"

"No reason," he grinned.

XOXOXOX

"Mac, I think you should see this," Jo called. Mac stopped on his way to the elevator, adjusting the collar of his coat.

"What is it?" he asked, taking the file she held out to him.

"Remember the DNA test confirming Michaela Brown was Michael Ulster's daughter? I had a hunch and ran the father's sample through the NYPD employee database. It's your DNA. And Michaela Brown is Kenzie."

Mac frowned, staring at the DNA results. He knew better than to ask if she was sure. Jo was a DNA expert after all.

"The letter is dated three months before Kenzie's kidnapping, which means he was planning this for a long time," she continued.

"A very long time," Mac said. "How did he get our DNA? Stella was still in New Orleans then. No one knew I was her father, how did he find out?"

Jo couldn't answer. It seemed with Michael Ulster the more they knew, the less they understood.


	6. Tangled Up

"Okay... Aunt Stella, left hand green," Shaun said.

"You have got to be kidding me," Stella muttered, glaring at the mat in frustration. With her right hand and left foot on red and her right foot on blue, getting her left hand on a green circle was going to be nigh on impossible. Hoping that her dancing had been paying off, she lunged forward, her hand slapping down on the circle noisily. Wobbling momentarily, she grinned as she managed to keep her balance.

"Kenzie, right foot blue," Shaun instructed. Obediently Kenzie moved her foot. How could her daughter look so at ease? And how was she managing so well at Twister when she was so small Stella wondered. But she didn't have time to dwell on it before Lily was stretching under her stomach to reach the closest available yellow.

"Aunt Stella... Left foot blue."

Stella groaned. There was no way she was going to manage this. But she couldn't, and wouldn't, admit defeat, even to two five and a three year olds. And she might have made it, if the doorbell hadn't rung as she made her move and broke her concentration, sending her, and Lily, tumbling to the ground.

"I win!" Kenzie cried gleefully. Wishing she was ten years younger, Stella picked herself up and went to answer the door.

"Mac?" she frowned. "What are you doing here?" Then she realised, "I invited you... Sorry, I completely forgot. Come in."

"Daddy!" Kenzie cried, running to give her father a hug. Smiling Mac crouched down, kissing her.

"Mac, these are my god-children, Shaun and Lily," Stella explained. "You two, this is Mac."

"He's my daddy," Kenzie added.

"I said I'd look after them for a couple of hours so their parents could have some time to themselves," Stella continued, as Kenzie took control of the spinner. "So we're playing Twister. Kenzie won so it's her turn on the spinner."

"How do you play?" Mac asked.

"You've never played Twister?"

"No."

"Well, why don't you sit this one out, help Kenzie with the spinner and then you'll find out?"

Kenzie climbed up onto Mac's knee, then flicked the spinner.

"Mom, right hand yellow," she said. After the first few minutes, Mac understood the game. It wasn't a difficult concept, but it definitely was fun to watch. Especially considering how stubborn Stella was. She refused to give up, no matter how much she had to stretch herself, or twist her body to reach the designated colour. It was Lily who fell down first. The blonde girl jumped up immediately and skipped over to the couch, taking the spinner from Kenzie.

"Come on Mac," Stella called, pulling herself upright again.

"I think I'll sit and watch," he replied.

"Uh uh," she shook her head. "Everyone joins in."

Admitting defeat, Mac left his jacket on the back of the couch, kicked off his shoes and joined Stella by the side of the mat. Unfortunately, Stella realised quickly that he wasn't afraid to play dirty, and flashed back to playing Scrabble with him once during a blackout.

"_You can only use English words," Stella said. "No foreign languages!"_

"_It's not foreign," Mac argued._

"_It's Latin. We don't speak Latin, we speak English. Therefore, it's foreign!"_

"_But Latin's the rood of most English words, so it doesn't count as foreign."_

"_Yes it does."_

"_In that case, you can't play restaurant."_

"_What?" she frowned._

"_Restaurant's a French word," he explained._

"_But there isn't any other word for it. It's the word used in English. We use corpse for a body."_

"_And sometimes we use cadaver."_

"Okay Taylor," she challenged once Shaun had lost the game. "Ten bucks I can last longer than you."

"Deal," he agreed, shaking her hand. Kenzie took charge of the spinner again, with Shaun and Lily on either side of her. Both Stella and Mac knew that with the kids out of the way, this would be a no holds barrelled attempt to make the other fall first. And neither would give in.

"Mom, put your right foot on blue," Kenzie said. "Now daddy, left hand green." After making sure they'd done as instructed, Kenzie passed the spinner to Lily. She tucked her long blonde hair behind her ears as the pointer span.

"Aunt Stella, left foot red… Mac, right foot yellow." Then the spinner went to Shaun. He studied their positions carefully until Lily snapped, "Get a move on then!"

"Alright!" he retorted.

For the next few moves they remained at opposite ends of the mat, until Stella was given right hand green. She could've gone around Mac, and part of her was tempted, knowing he would try something otherwise, but her competitive spirit didn't like this waiting around. She wanted to have the chance to try and knock him off balance, literally, too. So she leaned forward, keeping her feet and left hand in place, and put her right hand right next to his foot. They grinned at each other, knowing the fun was about to begin.

"Your move," she said. And true to form, Mac put his hand onto a circle underneath her stomach. They were purposely invading each other's personal space now to make the other uncomfortable. Stella remained pretty confident; she was less concerned about having her space invaded than Mac. She was the one who would initiate a hug first. But on the other hand, it wasn't as though they'd never been this close physically before; Kenzie was living, breathing proof of that.

Self preservation quickly went out of the window as they purposely tangled themselves up. However, Stella did manage to surprise Mac sometimes, and not in a good way. Sometimes she'd move and if there hadn't been Kenzie, Shaun and Lily in the room, invisible lines be damned, he wasn't sure he would've been able to control himself from making a move that he was pretty sure wouldn't be in the Twister rulebook. Unfortunately for Stella though, Mac could still remember that she was ticklish, so when she leaned over in front of him, her t-shirt riding up slightly to reveal her stomach, he blew towards it. He grinned as she narrowed her eyes at him. So when she had to put her left hand on yellow, she went for the circle immediately behind him, leaning against his right leg on blue.

The game had now been going on for nearly twenty minutes. Both were in good shape, and had no problem going on. Again the children in the room prevented suspect tactics, this time from Stella, who was very tempted to make a joke to Mac about stamina.

"Mac, left hand red," Lily said. As he moved, Mac tickled Stella. She yelped, instinctively moving away, loosing her balance. Because they were so tangled up in each other from trying to put each other off, the only flaw in the plan came back to haunt them as they both fell over.

"Cheat!" Stella accused, rolling over and sitting up.

"You fell down first," Mac pointed out.

"Only because you tickled me."

"I still stayed up longer than you."

"We hit the ground at the same time."

"Draw?" he suggested.

"Deal," she agreed.

As they helped each other up, the doorbell rang again. The door opened and Jane stuck her head round it.

"Knock knock," she smiled.

"Hey Jane," Stella smiled, pulling Mac up. The familiar blonde woman raised her eyebrows when she spotted her former boss.

"Hello Mac," she said.

"Jane," he said in surprise.

"You going to stand in the door all day?" Stella teased, helping Shaun and Lily find their shoes.

"Guessing these two belong to you," Mac said, pointing to Shaun and Lily. Jane nodded.

"This is my husband Robert," she said, indicating to the man behind her. "This is Detective Mac Taylor, head of the New York crime lab, my former boss," she explained.

"And my daddy," Kenzie added.

"Wipe that look of your face," Stella whispered, as she gave her friend a hug.

"I always thought she looked like him," Jane replied.

"Okay you two, come and give me a hug," Stella demanded, opening her arms as Shaun and Lily ran towards her. "Be good," she said, kissing their foreheads.

"Bye aunt Stella, bye Kenzie, bye Mac," the twins chorused. Mac waved.

"I'll call you when we get back," Jane promised, giving Stella one last hug.

XOXOXOX

"Since when have you and Jane been so close?" Mac asked as he took out cutlery to set the table.

"Since I arrived in New Orleans and didn't know anyone and discovered she was my DNA tech," Stella replied. "And I never disliked her. We just... weren't best friends."

"Right."

"Oh go sit down while I serve up," Stella snapped good-naturedly.

**XOXOXOX**

**Apologies for taking so long to update. Merry Christmas and thanks for sticking with this! xx**


	7. Revelations Again

"So now that Jo and Flack know, how do you want to tell the rest of them that Kenzie's your daughter?" Stella asked, tucking her feet underneath her. "Cause I doubt Flack'll be able to keep it to himself for long. Sooner or later, he's going to tell Danny, who'll tell Lindsay who will want to know everything."

"Everything?" Mac smirked, raising his eyebrows. Stella pushed him with one foot.

"Stop avoiding the question."

"Honestly, I have no idea how to tell them," he replied.

"How about... we don't," Stella suggested. Mac frowned.

"I don't follow."

"I have an idea..."

XOXOXOX

"I am never having a party here again," a harassed looking Lindsay announced, passing her son to Danny as she passed to retrieve more bottles of juice from the fridge.

"She said that last year on Lucy's birthday," Danny said to Flack and Jamie. "And the year before."

"Yeah, but this time I mean it," Lindsay said, before returning to the living room, her arms full of drinks.

Once his wife was out of earshot, shifting Noah onto his hip, Danny added, "She said that last year too."

Meanwhile, Lindsay handed out a new cup of juice to one of Lucy's friends with one hand, while wiping up the child's spilled drink. The doorbell rang, causing her to look up desperately.

"I'll get it," Jo said, patting Lindsay's shoulder, leaving her conversation with Hawkes.

"Thank you," Lindsay replied gratefully.

Jo opened the door, grinning when she saw Mac with Kenzie in his arms and a woman – who she assumed was Stella – beside him.

"Hey, come in. Lindsay's dealing with a drinks drama," she greeted.

"Stella, this is Jo Danville," Mac said. The two women shook hands.

"Hi," Stella grinned. "It's great finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Stella!"

Lindsay waded through the ever moving crowd of children to hug her friend.

"It's so good to see you," she continued.

"You too," Stella replied. "I can't believe how much Lucy's grown!"

"I still think I'm going to wake up, and the last five years have been a dream, and find she's still two months old," Danny said, stepping forward to hug her.

"Believe me, I know that feeling!" Stella said. "And who is this?"

"This is the birthday boy. Noah, say hi to your auntie Stella," Danny said. The little boy gurgled, waving an arm towards Stella.

"Danny, Lindsay, he's gorgeous!"

Stella moved further into the living room to greet Hawkes. Kenzie had been watching her mom talking to all these strange people from the safety of her dad's arms.

"Kenz, this is Jo," Mac said. "Say hi."

"Hello Jo," she said nervously.

"Hi Kenzie," Jo smiled.

"And this is Jamie, Danny and Noah," Mac said, pointing each of them out. Kenzie waved at them, looking around the room at all the children.

"Hey Kenzie, why don't I take you to meet my daughter Lucy," Danny suggested. Kenzie tugged at Mac's collar.

"You come too?"

"Sure," he smiled.

Stella leaned against the wall, watching her daughter with pride. Since being introduced by Mac and Danny, Kenzie and Lucy had become fast friends. Lucy had taken Kenzie under her wing, and was making sure none of the other older kids tried to push her around. Just like Lindsay. Not that Kenzie needed protecting. One boy had tried to push her off her chair during musical statues, to which she had retorted that her daddy was a police man and he'd arrest him if he took her chair.

"She's a beautiful girl."

Looking round, Stella saw Jo approach.

"Thanks," she replied.

"Looks like she's a real daddy's girl too," Jo added, as Kenzie ran back to Mac as the game of pass the parcel ended.

"Oh yeah," Stella grinned. "She's got him wrapped around her fingers already."

"I think it's a father daughter thing," Jo said. "I remember one time, when I was about nine, I wanted to go horse riding. My mom said no. So I want to my dad and asked him. He took me the very next day. My mom was furious."

"Peace at last," Lindsay said, slumping against the wall to watch the children tuck into the food.

"You really think it's going to last?" Stella asked.

"Probably not."

Right on cue a squabble broke out at the end of the table between two boys. Lindsay groaned, then went to play the role of mediator. Stella and Jo chuckled.

"Could be worse. At my son Tyler's eighth birthday party, we had a full on food fight erupt over the party bags," Jo said.

XOXOXOX

"So, Kenzie seems to be pretty close to Mac," Lindsay said as she, Stella and Jo began clearing the up the leftover food. Her tone was light and conversational, but Stella knew her well enough to know that there was an angle behind her questions. She bit back a smirk.

"Yes," she replied non-committally.

"He's been spending a lot of time with her?" Lindsay continued.

"I guess so," Stella said, sharing a smile with Jo.

"He's so good with her too."

"Lindsay, just say it," Stella grinned.

"Is Mac her father?"

"Flack tell you?"

"Yeah, after Danny nearly choked on a popcorn kernel after hearing her call Mac daddy. So are you two together now?"

"What? No," Stella replied, shaking her head before taking a handful of plates back to the kitchen. Lindsay turned to Jo.

"They're so still into each other."

XOXOXOX

"I still can't believe Stella and Mac have a kid together," Lindsay said, depositing a handful of used paper plates into the bin. The children had all gone home, including Kenzie with her parents. Lucy had finally ran out of energy and sugar high, and had been put to bed. Noah however was wide awake and refusing to let Danny put him down.

"I think they're good together," Jamie said.

"There was always a lot of chemistry between them," Hawkes added, taking a cloth from Jo to wipe the counter top.

"I mean, when did it even happen?" Lindsay continued. "We're detectives, surely we would've known if they'd started a relationship."

"We didn't know about you and Danny to begin with," Hawkes pointed out.

"Stella told me it was the night she left," Flack said. "After they left the bar, they ended up at Mac's and, you know."

Danny pulled a face.

"Look, do we have to go into details about this? I don't really want to know," he said, bouncing Noah in his arms.

"What's the problem?" Flack asked.

"I just don't want to think about Mac and Stella. It's like thinking about your parents." He shuddered. Flack laughed, shaking his head, as Lindsay threw a towel at her husband.


	8. Blurring the Lines

Mac stared at Ulster's letter confirming the parental DNA match between Mac and Kenzie. He'd been sitting in his office staring at it all morning, hoping some sort of inspiration would strike. How on earth could Michael Ulster have known that Kenzie was his daughter? Dropping the paper, he leaned back in the chair, rubbing his eyes. He still hadn't told Stella that Ulster knew about Kenzie. He had planned to a week ago when she invited him for dinner, but then with Jane and Stella's godchildren – not to mention that game of Twister – he'd kept the information to himself.

The only possible explanation was that Ulster had been planning this a long time, since before Stella left New York. Perhaps he'd even been following them? Could he have followed them the night before she left? The thought made him uncomfortable. If that was the case, then sooner or later he was going to have to bring up that night with Stella.

However, checking Ulster's file, he realised it was impossible for Ulster to have followed them that night. Ulster had only been released six months ago. Sighing in frustration, Mac threw the file back onto his desk. He sat forward, picking up the photo frame which had taken pride of place in the corner of his desk - the corner which didn't hold the unsolved files. He stared at the picture of Kenzie, taken at the park two weeks ago, still unable to completely believe that he had a daughter. Smiling, he replaced the photo. Suddenly, his cell phone rang.

"Taylor... Okay, we're on our way," he said, before hanging up.

XOXOXOX

Reading essays was definitely her least favourite part of her new job. Although, considering she'd been a lecturer for nearly three months now, she doubted it counted as new anymore. The words on the screen began to blur as Stella ate another spoonful of Greek yoghurt, trying to keep her thoughts on the task at hand. Namely, marking all thirty two essays. But her thoughts kept drifting, thinking about how much she missed being a CSI. She missed working with her friends, being part of a team. Instead it was just her, at the front of the room, talking to thirty four students about forensics. She sighed. Maybe in a couple of years she could go back to CSI. But at the moment it was too hard to find time to spend with Kenzie. It would be different if she was with Mac, but as that was never going to happen there was no point in even fantasizing about it. The fact of the matter was, she loved being a CSI, but she loved her daughter more. And if the only way to be with her daughter was to teach, then she'd do it.

Her phone rang, breaking the silence.

"Bonasera," she said, answering it on autopilot.

"I'm looking for Stella Bonasera?" a female voice asked.

"Speaking," Stella replied suspiciously. It was too late for telemarketers.

"I'm calling from the ER at North General Hospital. You're listed as the next of kin for Detective Mac Taylor."

"Is he alright?" Stella asked, immediately fearing the worst.

"Detective Taylor has been injured. Are you able to pick him up or call someone who would be able to?"

"No, of course I can come pick him up."

Immediately Stella wondered what to do about Kenzie. She didn't know what kind of state Mac was in so she didn't want to take her to the hospital. But if something had happened to Mac, then it was likely Danny and Flack had been with him, and for all she knew hurt also, so she couldn't call them. And Hawkes and Jo would be working overtime, and she didn't like to call Reed at one am. Making her decision, Stella abandoned the essays, hurrying to get changed.

XOXOXOX

Fifteen minutes later Stella handed a half asleep Kenzie to Sid outside his house.

"Thank you so much," she whispered, trying not to wake her daughter.

"No problem. I hope he's okay," Sid replied.

Stella's heels clicked loudly along the corridor, the ER largely silent apart from a drunk curled up in the foetal position, muttering to himself. The nurse at the front desk looked tired, nearing the end of her shift and longing for her bed.

"I'm looking for Detective Mac Taylor," Stella told her, clearly not in the mood to wait.

"And you are?"

"Stella Bonasera. I'm next of kin."

"Right. Detective Taylor's in room 3A. We're just waiting for a colleague to return with some clean clothes as his are being taken as evidence," the nurse explained. Stella nodded, and followed the nurse's directions to find Mac.

Mac didn't even look up when she entered the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Instantly her eyes were drawn to the bandage on his left hand and forearm, and she realised in her rush to find him she hadn't even asked if the nurse knew what happened. Stella sat down carefully on the edge of the bed and he looked up, noticing her for the first time.

"Hey," she smiled softly. He didn't reply. On the chair by the bed, sat a brown evidence bag, the clear plastic window showing her Mac's shirt, stained with an ugly, bright red stain she knew to be blood. But how much of it was his? Finally Mac met her eyes. Instantly Stella leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. Seconds later she felt his arm slip around her waist, holding her tightly. And they stayed like that, unmoving, just holding onto each other, and getting perilously close to their invisible lines.

They moved apart hearing a knock at the door. It opened slowly, revealing Jo, carrying a hold-all on her shoulder.

"I brought you the spare clothes from your locker," she said, putting down the bag on the chair, and collecting the evidence bag. "Danny was discharged with bruises." She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Feel better soon."

"Thanks," Mac replied hoarsely. Jo gave Stella a reassuring smile before leaving the room.

"I'll be back in a minute, I'm going to find out when you can leave," Stella said, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Jo?" Stella called."What happened?"

"We were on a case, we got a lead on the suspect; Danny, Mac and Flack went to track him down. He saw them and ran. Danny and Flack went in the back, Mac and the uniforms went in the front after him. He attacked Mac with a knife. When Mac caught up with him, the suspect was about to put a bullet in Danny's head." Jo hesitated. "He was just a kid. Fifteen years old. And he killed three people. Mac had to shoot him."

After Jo gave her a few more details about the case, Stella returned to Mac's room and helped him get dressed. A doctor came in with prescription painkillers and orders to take them, then released Mac. Stella took his arm, not caring if he protested – he didn't, which in itself was worrying – and led him out to the car.

"Where's Kenzie?" Mac asked eventually.

"At Sid's," she replied. He nodded, turning to look out the window again.

As they drove in silence, Stella agonised over whose apartment she should drive to. It made sense to go to Mac's, but she wasn't leaving him on his own, and although Kenzie had stayed at his apartment a few times, her things were all at Stella's. And it was easier to take what Mac would need to hers, than move all of Kenzie's things to his. Decision made, she drove back to her own apartment. Mac didn't even seem to notice, let alone question it.

"We're here," she said quietly, turning off the ignition. No reply. "Mac, if there had been any other way... If you hadn't done it, he would've killed Danny. Would you really have wanted to make that call to Lindsay? This might make me seem like a horrible person, but I'm glad you shot him. Otherwise he might've killed not only Danny but you too. And I couldn't tell Kenzie that her daddy's not coming back. She adores you Mac." When he still didn't reply, Stella sighed and unclipped her seatbelt.

By the time she'd helped him into bed, Stella wanted to scream, _Say something! Argue with me! Tell me you'll be fine with the couch and that you refuse to let me give up my bed for you. Tell me that I should've taken you home, that you don't need looking after. For goodness sake, be the Mac Taylor I know and love!_ Because she didn't really know this version of Mac. She'd seen glimpses before, and she'd put money on being the only one who'd seen that much.

She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. What was she doing? She'd fallen for her best friend a long time ago, and apart from the night Kenzie was conceived, she'd never acted on her feelings. There were lines, rules almost, that had to be observed at all times. And having Mac here was going to screw those lines completely to hell. But she loved him. And right now, he needed her. So instead of going through to the living room with a blanket and a pillow as she'd told herself she would, Stella climbed into bed beside an already dozing Mac and fell asleep.

XOXOXOX

The first thing Stella noticed when she woke up, was Mac tossing and turning on her left.

"Mac," she shook him gently. "Mac, wake up. Mac."

His eyes opened, looking around before settling on her face. She smiled reassuringly. "You okay?" she asked.

"Nightmare," he replied, struggling to sit up. He grabbed her arm suddenly, freezing.

"What's wrong?"

"Dizzy," Mac muttered, afraid to speak in case he threw up, which he really felt like right about now.

"Maybe you just sat up too quickly," she suggested. He gave a barely perceivable shake of the head. "Okay, why don't you lie down again?" Stella put her hand onto his forehead. "Mac, you're burning up."

"My arm," he mumbled. "Really painful."

Now Stella was really worried. If Mac was admitting it was really painful, it had to be agony. She reached over him and grabbed the phone.

"I'm calling a doctor."

"Good idea."

XOXOXOX

She paced anxiously while the doctor inspected Mac's arm, fighting every time he winced in pain to stop herself from going to his side. Eventually, after what felt like forever but was in reality only a few minutes, the doctor stepped back.

"You have a mild infection, probably due to dirt in the wound," he explained. "I've cleaned it out, and I'll leave some antibiotics to fight the infection. Over the next few days I want complete bed rest, understand Mr Taylor?"

Stella wanted to scream, _Why wasn't it properly cleaned in the first place?_ But she held her tongue, folding her arms and gripping onto her forearms tightly. At least she'd taken him back to her apartment, not left him alone. That was something to be grateful for. After showing the doctor out, Stella returned, perching on the edge of the bed.

"How you feeling?" she asked.

"I've been better," he replied.

"Painkillers taking effect yet?"

Mac nodded.

"You hungry? I can get you some breakfast if you want," she offered.

"No thanks. I think I'll try and get some more sleep," Mac replied.

"Okay. If you need anything, just call," she said, patting his uninjured arm.

XOXOXOX

Stella hurried to answer the door, incase whoever had knocked decided to try the bell thereby waking Mac. Goodness knows Mac got little enough sleep usually, with an infected arm and the stress of the previous night he needed all the rest he could get. When she opened the door, Stella broke into a grin.

"Mommy!" Kenzie cried, reaching out towards her.

"Hey baby," Stella grinned, taking her daughter from Sid. "How you doing?"

"Me and Sid played doctors and he let me use a sethyscope like a real doctor!" Kenzie said excitedly. "It was so cool!"

"I'm glad you had fun," Stella said, kissing her forehead. "Thank you, Sid."

"You're welcome," he replied. "She's no trouble. Tell him we're asking for him."

"I will."

Stella carried Kenzie into the the apartment, sitting down with her on the couch, while Kenzie chatted on about her night at Sid's. She seemed none the worse for wear after her unexpected sleepover to Stella's relief.

"Listen Kenzie, last night daddy's arm got hurt. That's why you had to stay at Sid's. So daddy's going to stay here for a little while until he's feeling better," Stella explained. "He's going to be tired and you need to be really careful because his arm is very sore, okay?"

Kenzie nodded.

"Can I see him?"

"I'll ask him."

Mac had managed to doze off after Stella left however, despite the extra strong painkillers the doctor had given him, his arm was still uncomfortable. As a result he was unable to get any real sleep. Also, whenever he closed his eyes, he could see the face of the fifteen year old kid he'd killed last night. Although he kept telling himself that it was a good shoot, there was a small voice that kept saying he'd killed a child.

The bedroom door opened slightly, and Stella's head appeared. She gave him a warm smile.

"Are you feeling up to a visitor?" she asked. "Cause I've got a little girl who'd love you see you."

Mac nodded. Opening the door further, Stella stepped back letting Kenzie run into the room, bouncing onto the bed.

"Remember sweetie, be careful," Stella warned.

"Hey Kenzie," Mac said as she snuggled into his right side.

"I had a sleepover at Sid's and he let me use a real sethyscope that actual doctors use," Kenzie replied. Mac grinned.

"Really?"

Smiling, Stella left Kenzie and Mac to it.


	9. Captured Moments

After a few hours Mac was bored. After a day he was ready to go back to work. After three he was ready to climb out the fire escape and go to work. However Stella had discovered the perfect way to make sure he couldn't escape: Kenzie. Their daughter was thrilled to have both her parents around all the time. Despite his protests that there was no need, Stella had taken time off work to ensure he obeyed the doctors orders. She had decided to keep Kenzie at home for most of the day, although she did take her to daycare for a few hours in the afternoon to give Mac a chance to rest. Despite what he said, the infection had taken its toll on him, not to mention the painkillers he'd been prescribed left him feeling worn out.

"I feel like I should be taking a photo of this for evidence," Stella teased, sitting on the edge of the bed. "The great Mac Taylor watching a Disney movie."

"I have no idea what's going on," Mac said, nodding towards the TV screen. "There's a reindeer and a snowman singing about summer."

Stella chuckled, glancing to the bottom of the bed, where Kenzie was lying on a pillow, engrossed in the movie.

"Falling asleep in the middle probably didn't help," Mac admitted, following her gaze towards their daughter.

"I'm sure if you're lost, she'll explain it to you," Stella said.

XOXOXOX

"I'm taking Kenzie to daycare, I'll be back in about thirty minutes," Stella announced, walking into the room. "And impossible thought it seems, I brought you something to watch in the off chance that you've watched enough Disney movies."

"Perish the thought," he teased. "What is it?"

"Watch it and you'll find out," she replied. "Oh and Mac? Don't even think about getting up while I'm gone."

Chuckling to himself, Mac shuffled down the bed, reaching out with his uninjured arm to put the DVD into the side of the TV. As it loaded he sat back against the headboard. To his surprise, Stella appeared on the screen, curled on her side asleep. The camera panned round slowly, stopping on the clear plastic crib. Wrapped up in a white cotton blanket, her red face scrunched up in a frown lay Kenzie, only a few hours old. The camera held steady on her face, zooming in slightly after a minutes.

It cut to a few hours later. Stella was awake now, holding Kenzie. It was clear from her face how much she loved her daughter. She ran her finger gently over both Kenzie's hands, then pulled back the blanket so she could do the same with her feet. Then she ran her finger up and down her daughter's leg, causing Kenzie to squirm.

"Ticklish, huh?" Stella said quietly.

"Like you then boss," a female voice from behind the camera teased.

"Very funny Ani," Stella replied dryly.

"Aw, you know you love me really."

"You're a brave woman Anika, teasing the boss. I wouldn't do that to the woman who holds my professional future in her hands," a male voice said to the left.

"Yeah well that's cause you've no balls," Anika retorted from behind the camera.

"You would know," Stella muttered.

"What?"

"I said that's why Ricky's assistant supervisor and not you," Stella smiled sweetly.

"Yeah my a-"

"Hey, no swearing in front of the baby!" Ricky objected from off camera.

"She can't understand me," Anika argued. "And don't just call her the baby. She is a she and she has a name. Mackenzie. So why don't you try using it?"

"Fine! No swearing in front of Mackenzie!"

"Hey, no fighting in front of Mackenzie," Stella interrupted, shaking her head at her two CSIs. "Honestly sweetie, these two are worse than Danny and Lindsay."

The clip cut off and when it returned it was evening, Ricky was behind the camera now and Anika was perched on the end of the bed. Stella was wrapped in a blue robe, holding Kenzie. Another woman was sitting in a chair by the bed and a man about Stella's age with dark hair and a short beard stood behind her.

"She looks like you honey," the woman said.

"Lucky kid," Anika muttered. Stella raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on Stel, what woman wouldn't be jealous? I mean, you just had a baby less than twelve hours ago and you still look fantastic. Sometimes life really is a b-"

"Ani!" Ricky warned. Anika rolled her eyes.

"Chill Rick."

"Only if you quit swearing in front of the kid!"

"Mackenzie!" Anika and the other woman chorused.

"Two against one mate," the dark haired man chuckled.

"Oh don't you start Alec," Ricky groaned.

"Children! Stop fighting!" Stella interrupted. "Honestly! I feel like a kindergarden teacher around you four."

"Sorry Stella," Anika singsonged.

"You do realise you sound like a four year old?" the woman asked.

"You do realise Ani's actually only four years old don't you Emmy?" Ricky replied.

"But I'm a very advanced four year old," Anika pointed out. They all burst out laughing, the clip cutting them off.

XOXOXOX

"How many more of these do you have?"

"Bout two and half years worth," Stella replied, scooping a spoonful of ice cream straight from the tub. Mac turned away from the TV screen, raising his eyebrows at her. "What?" she asked, mouth full of ice cream.

"Get a bit camera happy?" he teased.

"No," she replied, drawing the vowel out.

"So why do you have so many home videos?" he asked.

"Because I quickly realised that she was going to grow up far too quickly and that I wanted to capture as much of her life as possible. Besides, I always knew I would tell you eventually. I wanted you to be able to see what you missed out on."

They stared at each other, until Mac took Stella's hand, squeezing it gently in a silent thank you.

XOXOXOX

The knock on the door came as Stella was in the middle of washing their lunch dishes. Quickly drying her hands on a towel, she made her way through to front door. She opened it, revealing Flack and Jamie.

"Hey guys," she grinned. "Come in."

"Uncle Don," Kenzie cried, spying her 'uncle' as she came to investigate who was at the door.

"Hey superstar," Flack grinned, scooping her up.

"Hi Jamie," Kenzie said over Flack's shoulder.

"Hey Kenzie," Jamie replied, grinning at their interaction.

"What're you doing here?" Kenzie asked.

"Well," Flack said. "Me and Jamie thought that there might be a little girl who would like to spend the afternoon with us."

"Me!" Kenzie cried.

"Why don't you ask your mom?"

"Mom, can I go with uncle Don and Jamie? Please, please, please, please?"

"I think that would be okay," Stella replied. "Go get your shoes and say bye to daddy."

Kenzie tore out of the room as soon as Flack put her down.

"How's he doing?" Flack asked as he straightened up.

"He's getting there," Stella replied. "He came off the antibiotics for the infection this morning, and the doctor's cut down his painkillers."

Kenzie raced back into the room, giving her mom a quick hug before taking Flack and Jamie's hands.

"See you later Stell," Flack said.

"Bye. Have fun," Stella called, closing the door behind them. She sighed. Peace at last. The apartment seemed strangely quiet without her daughter there, especially during the first few days when Mac had been taking advantage of the peace and quiet to get some sleep. However, she doubted she would be able to convince him to stay in bed much longer. _Speak of the devil_, she thought, hearing footsteps in the hallway. Stella stood, arms crossed, hiding a smile. He did at least have the decency to look sheepish.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said in her best mom voice.

"Stella, the doctor said I didn't need to stay in bed anymore," he replied. "I haven't moved for five days. I'm bored, my back aches and if I don't see something other than those four walls I'm going to go crazy."

Stella smiled.

"Go have a bath," she said gently. "Relax. Might help your back. It'll be easier to keep your dressing dry."

"You trying to tell me something?" he teased.

"Of course not Mac," she replied. "You know me. I'd tell you straight if you smelled."


End file.
